Minister for Information Communication and Technology Hon. Chris Baryomunsi yesterday informed the parliament that the government is soon coming up with measures to start regulating the usage of social media.
According to minister Baryomunsi, many social media users in the country have made it a habit of spreading false information, promoting hate speech and false propaganda especially towards the political line and the govermnment's intervation will be of great help in restoring harmony on the platforms.
This however is not the first time government has come out to 'try and restore harmony on social media.' Many believe the introduction of social media tax (OTT) in July 2018 was an indirect move of limiting how many people use social media.
In this year's financial budget, OTT wa scrapped off and a 30% tax on data was introduced. According to government, these are all moves to increase government revenue BUT, Uganda has one of the most expensive data charges on the continent.
With the continued ban on Facebook since the post election incidents, and the continued emphasis to adopt to new technology and internet usage by the same government, putting two and two together surely points to one direction. Good afternoon.
